Support Stafford Hospital

Withnail

Withnail

Well-Known Forumite
skwalker1964 said:
If you want to read the article properly and argue with what I've actually said rather than set up straw men, then I'll do my best to engage.
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Have you read the piece by M.D. in the Eye?

He comes to some markedly different conclusions to you in certain areas.
 
basil

basil

don't mention the blinds
It has never been my purpose to support a hospital, I pay others to do that........
 
peggy

peggy

Well-Known Forumite
My friends life may well have been saved thanks to the thorough examination and expertise of the radiographer who scanned my beautiful friend for an unrelated illness. He happened to spot cancer in a different part of her body, catching it before it had chance to spread. Tonight she tells me she is recieving great care and compassion on the ward.
 
proactive

proactive

Enjoying a drop of red.
peggy said:
My friends life may well have been saved thanks to the thorough examination and expertise of the radiographer who scanned my beautiful friend for an unrelated illness. He happened to spot cancer in a different part of her body, catching it before it had chance to spread. Tonight she tells me she is recieving great care and compassion on the ward.
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Excellent news. The many who do a fantastic job at the hospital, day in day, out deserve as much public praise as possible :)
 
peggy

peggy

Well-Known Forumite
Thankyou stafford hospital for the speed you acted with when my unborn child became distressed-your actions saved her life
Thankyou stafford hospital to the midwives who cared for me before, during and after the birth and death of my 2nd child. thankyou to the midwife, who after a full shift chose to stay with me in her own time, the consultant who sat at the end of my bed and comforted me despite the snot bubbles, the health care assistant who ran my bath and gave words of comfort, the mortuary staff who I left my little girl with.
Thankyou Stafford hospital for the indepth monitoring I had during my following pregnacies.
Thankyou Stafford hospital for identifying an illness in my newborn child, your quick actions prevented a potential disaster.
Thankyou Stafford hospital and A and E for fixing up my distressed little girl after a nasty accident on her finger.
Thankyou Stafford hospital for your thorough expertise which meant you noticed an abnormality in the skull of my little boy.
Thankyou Stafford hospital for the speed in which you responded to my list of "ailments" your perserverance, expertise and indepth testing meant an unusual incurable and progressive disorder was diagnosed, giving me the best possible chance of extending my life expectancy.
Thankyou Stafford hospital for responding so swiftly in theatre when things didnt go to plan.
Thankyou Stafford hospital for the care you gave me on that very busy ward, the help with the personal care, the pain relief the frequent obs.
Thankyou Stafford.
 
Withnail

Withnail

Well-Known Forumite
I'm a bit confused now as their are three threads currently covering similar ground.

I wanted to respond in particular to Zylo and skwalker1964, firstly for the 'happy now' sort of statement, and secondly for the 'yes, i did mean if' sort of thing.

I'm putting it here because i think there has been a strange polarisation type affair going on, that seems to make absurd distinctions between people being 'for' or 'against' the hospital. Whether 'for' or 'against' has been framed in a discourse that has depended in part on whether they think that it has been a 'car crash' or not, or if it once was a 'car crash' but is now not. Added to this mix is a new idea that it is, in fact, some figment of imagination - it has all been exaggerated and nothing out of the ordinary has actually happened at all.

To Zylo first - no. A simple answer to a simple question - no, i am not happy about it. It has never been about happiness - nobody wants the hospital to close, they have only ever not wanted to die there unnecessarily. I have heard tell of Julie Bailey 'wanting' it to close, but quite frankly after your last one-sided report of her words i'm unlikely to take at face value what any of her enemies say about her ever again.

To skwalker1964 i say this - i admit i have not followed this story as closely as i might, but today i took the advice of M.D. when he said -
If you only have time to read one Francis report, make it his first independent inquiry, published in February 2010.
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Here it is . This is not politics or ideology, this is not point-scoring pettiness, this is not yah-boo-sucks - this is real stories about real people being let down, and even put down.

Nobody loves the NHS more than i do, though i dare say most people love it just as much, but i fail to see how or why living in a state of denial about its shortcomings is helpful. How can we hope to make things better if we refuse to acknowledge that things have gone wrong?
 
DDT

DDT

A few posts under my belt
" This is not politics or ideology, this is not point-scoring pettiness, this is not yah-boo-sucks - this is real stories about real people being let down, and even put down. Nobody loves the NHS more than i do, though i dare say most people love it just as much, but i fail to see how or why living in a state of denial about its shortcomings is helpful. How can we hope to make things better if we refuse to acknowledge that things have gone wrong" -Withnail
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Very well said, agree with you 100%, this issue is far too important to be reduced to a party political football, I think his blog explains the views Skwalker1964 expressed in his previous posts, http://skwalker1964.wordpress.com/about/.
 
peggy

peggy

Well-Known Forumite
it seems a group of around 50 supporters made a last minute arrangement to gather at Stafford today at 11.30. Believe the press were there and interviews held. Some talk of this to be the first of a number of demonstrations.
Also heard there is to be a public meeting tonight 7.45 Elim Church, Sash Street.
 
Z

Zylo

Well-Known Forumite
Yes, hopefully they get bigger and bigger, I'm rather sure it will due to most normal people wanting it to stay open.
 
proactive

proactive

Enjoying a drop of red.
Received in an email from our beloved local MP

Jeremy Lefroy via email said:
Update on Stafford Hospital


I would like to update you on the proposals for Stafford Hospital which were put forward yesterday in a report to the regulator of the Mid Staffs NHS Foundation Trust (which runs Stafford and Cannock hospitals).

The report was needed because the Trust has lost money for several years, including £21 million last year and £15 million this year. The report also concluded that, although Stafford hospital has greatly improved the quality of its services over the past 2-3 years, it is clinically unsustainable because it does not have sufficient consultants to cover rotas.

The main conclusions of the report - which gives three options - are:
  1. That Stafford and Cannock should become local hospitals. In effect, Stafford would no longer be an acute hospital.
  2. That four out of five patients currently attending Stafford and Cannock would still go there (for outpatient appointments, tests, day cases)
  3. That the Critical Care Unit (Intensive Care Unit) would go, meaning that the hospital could not continue to offer many emergency and most acute services.
  4. That babies would no longer be born at Stafford (although anti- and post-natal services would stay)
  5. That non-acute step up and step down beds would be introduced.
I am opposing the recommendations that Stafford should cease to offer many emergency and most acute services and that babies will no longer be born at Stafford.

I am doing so because:
  1. The report makes its case based on what seems to be a low estimate of the numbers who use the hospital ( 210,000 compared with the 270,000 which the Trust considers it serves).
  2. The report does not take sufficiently into account the projected increase both in the total population and the number of older people.
  3. The travel times used to alternative hospitals are inaccurate for many constituents and underestimate how long it would take to reach another acute hospital.
  4. The report does not consider the strategic importance of having a critical care unit and associated acute services in Stafford.
  5. The report underestimates the current ( and increasing) pressure on other acute hospitals in the region. I firmly believe that cutting acute services at Stafford would eventually impose unacceptable pressure on acute services elsewhere. Changes need to be made but those proposed go too far. They also, in my view, will have a serious effect on other hospitals in the region which are already operating at or near capacity.
The Stafford Hospital working group, which I chair, is working on a report which outlines alternatives which we believe are better. It will shortly be available on my website.

The action which I am taking is:
  1. To raise my concerns and opposition to these proposals with the Government. I did so in Prime Minister's questions today and the Prime Minister agreed to meet with me and other local MPs to discuss the situation. I have also had a meeting today with Health Minister Dan Poulter MP and made my opposition to the proposals clear. He understood the points I was making.
  2. To meet with the Trust Special Administrator as soon as s/he is appointed. The TSA has a duty to consider options other than those in the report and I will be urging the TSA to do so.
  3. To continue to work with all who wish to in our open working group to arrive at a solution which works for the people of Stafford, Cannock and the wider area. There is a meeting this evening at 7.45pm at Elim Church, Sash Street, Stafford.
  4. To encourage constituents to write to the TSA when appointed to show how vital it is to have these services at Stafford. These are difficult times for patients and staff. The Trust assures everyone that services will continue as normal while it is in administration and that patients and their relatives and loved ones should not be concerned.
I will continue to keep you informed by e-newsletter and via the news section on my website at www.jeremylefroymp.co.uk

Yours faithfully,

Jeremy Lefroy
Member of Parliament for Stafford constituency
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Gramaisc

Gramaisc

Forum O. G.
John said:
Received in an email from our beloved local MP
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I've had that, as well - and replied.

Gramaisc said:
Thank you for your email about the proposals for the hospital.
A vast amount of our money has been ploughed into this hospital over three decades, and a great many people have been well-paid to run it on our behalf. I do not expect this investment to be squandered. Downgrading this hospital is an act of incompetent vandalism and should be treated as such.
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RowanDraper

RowanDraper

Well-Known Forumite
My apologies for the repeat posting (and I hope the admin will be kind) but I wanted to make sure that as many people involved and active in the various discussions about the Hospital got to see this:

You may have already seen this on Facebook or Twitter but following the Hospital Working Group on Wednesday evening the campaigns involved, on a cross-party basis, with defending services at the Hospital have come together to fight united against the proposals to downgrade, or close, the Hospital.

They are available at Save Mid Staffs if you would like to 'like' them and get regular updates.
 
peggy

peggy

Well-Known Forumite
are you looking at taking the opportunity to highlight what could be lost from stafford hospital at the half marathan, it seems it would be great opportunity to raise a large number of peoples awareness and pass on dates of any forthcoming events. just a thought
 
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